NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for September 3, 2011

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

Yes. Each date we have covered is in the crossword archive .

Saturday, September 3, 2011

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 3:07 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Saturday, September 3, 2011. The daily crossword is the classic: a 15×15 grid on weekdays and a larger Sunday puzzle, with difficulty rising from a gentle Monday to a fiendish Saturday. Hints come first and the solution stays hidden until you ask for it.

70 clues · jump to Across or Down. Tap a tile for one letter, or Answer for the whole word.

Across clues & answers

1
"Star Wars" villain
6
Broken thing in "Gimme a break"
15
Perform "All of Me," say
16
Performing perfectly
17
Chili container
18
Pirate's implement
19
Sapporo's home
21
Nobel-winning economist James
22
"Would you look at that!"
23
Inventor of the battery in 1800
26
Extinct wingless bird
27
Birth city of Mother Teresa
30
It's acquired in the sun
33
A little too quiet, perhaps
34
Gruff rejoinder
35
Brewmaster's science
37
Term for some morning deejays
41
Having been tainted, as a drink
43
United hub
44
Noted role for 46-Down
47
Many domes
48
Great Society inits.
49
___ Park
51
"That's awful!"
52
"David ___," Edward Noyes Westcott novel
55
Ninnies
58
It stirs things up
61
About to happen
62
Gathering place for animals
63
Glandular opening?
64
They're thrown over the shoulder
65
Ready for another play

Down clues & answers

Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.

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Previous The Crossword answer

Friday, September 2, 2011

across

1. Sensitive information is often shared on it: NEEDTOKNOWBASIS
16. Thing rolled in a classroom: EDUCATIONALFILM
17. Continue cordially despite differences: AGREETODISAGREE
18. Cousin of a canvasback: TEAL
19. Scapola or clavicola: OSSO
20. It gets lapped a lot: SHORE
21. Potential mouth choker: SILT
23. Agricultural Hall of Fame locale: Abbr.: KAN
24. Certain X or O: TAC
25. It includes an analytical reasoning sect.: LSAT
27. ___-80 (old computer): TRS
29. Nascar Hall of Fame locale: Abbr.: NCAR
32. A good defense may result in it, briefly: PHD
34. A wee bit: ONEIOTA
36. 1968 title role for Vanessa Redgrave: ISADORA
40. "Thinking ...": LETSSEE
41. Chihuahua assent: SISENOR
42. Idyllic place: LEA
43. ___ suspension (ear drops): OTIC
44. "And that sort of thing": Abbr.: ETC
46. Evidence of some growth: RING
49. One-third of nove: TRE
51. "Configuration" artist: ARP
53. Enrich: LARD
55. Not as experienced: RAWER
57. Earth as an organism: GAIA
59. Place for a rip: SEAM
61. Like real danger: CLEARANDPRESENT
64. Toiletries and such: PERSONALEFFECTS
65. Feature of many a residential neighborhood: TREELINEDSTREET

down

1. Ingenious: NEAT
2. Ball's lack: EDGES
3. Continental pass provider: EURAIL
4. Common flashlight fillers: DCELLS
5. South Korea's Roh ___ Woo: TAE
6. Cartoon busman Mann: OTTO
7. Small business site: KIOSK
8. Gives a passing acknowledgment: NODSAT
9. Piquant sandwich base: ONIONROLL
10. "Time ___ ...": WAS
11. Firing result: BLAST
12. Kandahar cash: AFGHANIS
13. Dust-laden winds: SIROCCOS
14. Soprano player Robert: ILER
15. Hook accompanier: SMEE
22. Hit lightly: TAPON
26. Painful struggle: THROE
28. Look bad?: SNEER
30. Put down: ATE
31. Movie heroine Norma ___ Webster: RAE
33. Dumas hero: DARTAGNAN
35. Some cashless commerce: ETAIL
36. Prefix with -meric: ISO
37. Get on the bottom?: SIT
38. Seemingly: ASITWERE
39. Cut: DECREASE
45. Protect: CRADLE
47. Six-Day War figure: NASSER
48. Attic locale: GREECE
50. Owl in Harry Potter tales: ERROL
52. Brought (in), as music: PIPED
54. He met Charon in the underworld: DANTE
55. Return request: Abbr.: RCPT
56. A, Jay or Ray: ALER
58. Boxer rebellion cries?: ARFS
60. ___ Mary's (L.A. college): MTST
62. Black bird: ANI
63. Young pond dweller: EFT

Hints and full breakdown for Sep 2

More daily puzzle hints

How the week is built

Monday and Tuesday: straightforward definitions and familiar answers. These are the best days to learn.
Wednesday: a step up, often with a playful theme.
Thursday: the trick day, with rebus squares (several letters in one square) and answers that turn corners or skip squares.
Friday and Saturday: themeless and tough, with sly clues and long open sections.
Sunday: a bigger 21×21 grid with a theme, about as hard as a Wednesday or Thursday.

Crossword-solving habits worth building

Learn the common fill. Short vowel-heavy words such as ERA, OREO, ALOE and ETNA appear constantly because they help constructors connect sections.
Read clue signals. "?" means wordplay, "Abbr." means an abbreviation, "e.g." means an example of a category, and a foreign word in the clue hints at a foreign answer.
Find the theme. The longest answers usually share a gimmick; the title (on Sundays) or a "revealer" clue explains it.
Erase without fear. When crossings don't work, the wrong letter is usually in the answer you were most confident about.
Use targeted help. Reveal one letter here, or try our crossword solver with a pattern like ?R?S?.

The Crossword FAQ

When is the next crossword released?

Weekday puzzles go live at 10 p.m. Eastern Time the night before; weekend puzzles are released earlier in the evening.

What is a rebus square?

A square that holds more than one letter. Sometimes it holds a whole word or a symbol. They are most common on Thursdays.

Which day is the hardest?

Saturday is generally the hardest, followed by Friday. Sunday is larger but closer to midweek difficulty.

Can I see past crossword answers?

Yes. Each date we have covered is in the crossword archive.